


Lake Days, Horse Races, and Long Over Due Kisses

by cherrylove



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Southern Town AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4366706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrylove/pseuds/cherrylove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Clarke left for college, there’d been an incident. She’d had too much to drink so she was feeling bold and he’d gotten caught up in the moment. They’d agreed to keep it amongst themselves and never speak of it again, but months of separation had Clarke thinking that the boy…man she’d only ever thought of as Octavia’s big brother, her friend, the trainer, might be more than that. Could be more than just Bellamy. He could be her Bellamy. She could be his Clarke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lake Days, Horse Races, and Long Over Due Kisses

Clarke Griffin stepped into her bedroom for the first time in almost a year and dropped a duffle bag down at the foot of her bed. She moved to the big window and looked out it with her hands on her hips. The place was no different than when she left for Boston University in August. The humidity was still there and the kudzu was still growing up the side of the old woodshed. The paddock and attached barn with the horses and the trainer’s house a little ways back from there. She smiled softly and crossed her arms under her breasts, looking over to the paddock where a familiar tanned man was working with one of the newer horses. 

The Griffins have been raising horses since Clarke’s many greats-grandfather bought the family’s first horses back before the Civil War. Now they raised and trained thoroughbred racing horses and that was where the handsome tanned man fit into life on the Griffin land. He’d shown up on their doorstep, newspaper classified in hand just weeks before Clarke started her senior year of high school. 

He’d explained that his name was Bellamy Blake and that yes his mother was Aurora Blake, a world, renowned horse trainer. He’d seen the classified and could really use a job and that he’d been learning from his mother for the better part of 13 years. Clarke’s dad was convinced almost immediately, but her mother required a bit more evidence of Bellamy’s skill. Abby had all of them go down to the paddock and made Bellamy run through more skills and techniques than Clarke could have ever imagined there being involved in training racehorses. 

She stood there watching the young man who couldn’t be more than four or five years older than her coax the horse and move the young colt through basic training techniques and getting him into a saddle. When he was finished, he’d apparently been skilled enough to impress her mother as Abby was handing over the keys to the trainer’s house and told him he had three days to get settled and get all of the paperwork filled out before he started. She remembered the smile that ran across his face and the way he thanked her parents. 

Little did they know that Bellamy would bring his younger sister, Octavia with him. Within weeks Clarke and Octavia were as thick as thieves and would spend hours together watching bad movies or annoying Bellamy while he trained the horses. They’d graduated together and while Clarke had gone off to Boston for college Octavia opted for the University of Georgia, not too far from the Griffin estate. 

Clarke sighed and turned away from the window. She changed out of cropped yoga pants and into a pair of jean shorts, put on her boots and tugged a cleaner tank top on before bounding out of the house out to the paddock. She leaned against the wooden fencing and watched him for a few more moments. 

“Hey there stranger,” she called out as he stepped closer to the horse and began to stroke the length of his muzzle. 

He looked at her over his shoulder and gave her a half-smirk, “Hey there princess. Give me a minute?” 

She nodded and watched as he walked the tawny colored horse back to the barn. She was sitting on the fence when he returned and he joined her, “How was Boston?”

‘It was nice. Great food, great people, mentally exhausting schoolwork, but nice,” she said. “How’s it been here?” 

‘The same as it always is. Been kind of weird without you or Octavia here to bug me, but surprisingly I get a lot more done here when you two aren’t dragging me off somewhere.”

Clarke laughed softly, “I suppose that might be a natural side effect to us going off to college.” 

“You would know Miss Pre-Med,” he said, shoving her lightly. 

“Seriously though, how have things been really? Business still steady?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’re searching for a new jockey though. Atom got into an awful accident and can’t ride anymore,” Bellamy told her. “We’ve got a girl lined up who looks pretty promising.”

“That’s good. When is she coming out to ride?” Clarke asked. 

“Tomorrow afternoon. Your mom wanted to wait until you got back from Boston so you could help her decide. Your dad taught you all about jockeying. Your mom is still mostly just a genius surgeon,” Bellamy told her. He hopped down from the fence and looked to her, “I know your mom is on the graveyard shift in the ER tonight, want to settle down with a frozen pizza and watch a movie? I don’t want this to go to your head, but I’ve kinda missed your stubborn blonde ass.” 

She rolled her eyes, jumped down and shoved him, “Sounds like a plan.”

They trailed up to the big house and while Clarke found a frozen pizza, Bellamy picked out a movie to watch. She had to admit she missed home cooked meals, but frozen pizza and take-out was as close to cooking as Abby Griffin got. After her dad died, the meals Bellamy cooked for her and Octavia after a long weekend at the stables was the only home-cooked meal she got. 

She put the pizza in the oven when it was pre-heated and went to join Bellamy in the living room. They spent the rest of the night eating pizza and watching movies in silence, the only time they spoke was to fight briefly over the last piece of pizza and then when they both complained about the idiocy of the main female character who ran out into the woods alone at night when creepy things had been happening the entire movie. Clarke jumped when the killer appeared in the shadows the first time and Bellamy chuckled, earning another shove. This was their Octavia-less routine; movies and pizza. It’d happened many times over the years as Octavia found things Clarke didn’t like and Clarke got more invested in the idea of medical school. They’d run into a conflict, Octavia would go on a kayaking trip or hiking expedition over the weekend and Clarke’s self-mandated study breaks would be spent with Bellamy. It was a good routine and sometime along the way, they’d become friends too. 

Before Clarke left for college, there’d been an incident. She’d had too much to drink so she was feeling bold and he’d gotten caught up in the moment. They’d agreed to keep it amongst themselves and never speak of it again, but months of separation had Clarke thinking that the boy…man she’d only ever thought of as Octavia’s big brother, her friend, the trainer, might be more than that. Could be more than just Bellamy. He could be her Bellamy. She could be his Clarke. 

She shook the thoughts from her mind when she remembered that he was what kept Griffin Estate running on top of their game. He trained their horses, he worked with the jockeys, he did everything her mother couldn’t and Clarke could, but was unable to. They needed him to be all of that way more than she needed him to be hers. 

Still lying in her bed that night after parting ways with Bellamy with her windows open and the summer breeze drifting in, she let herself imagine and dream of what that might be like. When the sun broke into her room, stealing away her dreams she rose slowly and moved to her closet. She searched for a pair of worn light wash denim shorts she always wore when she was working with the horses. She slipped on socks and pulled an Arkvale High Lady Hawks Soccer shirt that miraculously still fit. She moved to the Keurig and picked out her favorite caramel flavored coffee. She fixed her coffee how she liked and moved to the fridge to search for the yogurt and strawberries. She sat down with her bowl of yogurt and strawberries on the back porch, watching the paddock. 

When she’d finished breakfast and slipped on her work boots, she made her way down and into the barn. She moved past all the labeled stalls filled with unfamiliar horses to the one that was most familiar to her. Dropship was a gift to Clarke from her dad on her 17th birthday. She slipped into the stall with brush and carrot in hand. She held the carrot out to Dropship as he eased towards her. He munched on the carrot as she brushed him and got him prepped for a ride. She knew Bellamy would want the jockey to take a ride on Dropship before their racehorse, The Heir of the Ark, who could be a little tricky. 

“He’s missed you.” She turned to see Bellamy leaning against the stall door. She took him in slowly from his messy hair to the perfectly rolled sleeves of his flannel that was over a grey muscle shirt. 

“I’ve missed him. When’s the jockey supposed to be here?” she asked.   
Bellamy checked the watch she recognized as the one he’d gotten from her mother after their first big win on the tracks, “In about ten. He ready to go? Wanna give him his warm up on the track?” 

“God yes,” she breathed out. He handed the reigns to his saddle over to her and watched as she got him saddled up. He opened the door for her and she led Dropship from the stall. She led him out of the barn and towards the track. She handed off the reigns to Bellamy briefly while she tied her hair into a tight ponytail. She led him onto the track and saddled up once the gate was closed. She leaned forward and ran her hand over his neck slowly, “We got this bud.” 

She started him at a slow walk and then gradually picked up the pace. Soon they were speeding around the track and Clarke as reveling in the feel of the wind whipping across her face and exposed skin of her forearms and thighs. She pulled him up to a stop next to where Bellamy leaned against the fence. Another person stood next to him now. She was tall but not too tall and leanly muscled. Perfect for a jockey… she thought. 

The next thing Clarke noticed was how pretty the girl was. She was tanned and her face was beautiful. Her ponytail was even perfect which made Clarke run a hand self-consciously over her own hair. She stopped Dropship near them and hopped down from the horse. She walked him to the trough and let him drink while she went to introduce herself to the girl. 

“Ah there’s our girl now,” Bellamy said, as Clarke got close. “Anya, this is Clarke Griffin. Clarke, this is Anya Hawthorne, the jockey we talked about last night.” 

“Right. It’s nice to meet you Anya,” she said, a smile on her face as she extended her hand to the taller girl. 

“It’s nice to meet the infamous Clarke. Bellamy and Dr. Griffin couldn’t stop talking about you the entire time we were doing the Skype interview.”

A blushed spread across Clarke’s face and she laughed nervously, “Well I’m sure they exaggerated almost all of it.” 

“From what I saw? Hardly. I know a good jockey when I see one,” Anya said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why don’t you jockey for your family?”

“Oh well…I…” Clarke struggled to get an explanation out. 

“She’s carrying on the doctor legacy of the Griffin family so we just have to look outside the family for a jockey,” Bellamy said, slinging an arm over Clarke’s shoulders, “Princess here is gonna be the next big thing in oncology.” 

Anya nodded, seeming to accept the explanation, “Well are you guys ready to see what I can do?” 

“Sure. We brought Dropship out first to get a feel for your baseline as a jockey and then we’ll bring out Grounder,” Clarke explained, still leaning into Bellamy. 

“Alright then,” she sent them a smug smile and moved towards Dropship carefully was he waiting patiently. 

Clarke looked up to Bellamy and smiled, “Let’s see what your golden girl has.”

He smirked down at her, “You’ll always be my golden girl, but I think she’ll be good enough.” 

A blush spread across Clarke’s face and she turned her attention to the track as Anya took off and Bellamy started the stopwatch. 

A couple hours later, Bellamy, Anya and Clarke were sitting in the office of the big house as Anya put her signature on the final page of her contract. They all stood, shook hands and watched Anya’s Jeep leave the driveway. Clarke turned to Bellamy, arms crossed over her chest and smiled, “I think she’s going to make us some good money.” 

He nodded, “I knew she was good, but…I didn’t realize how good.” 

“Well, I’m going to go get dinner started. When is O supposed to get here?” she asked. 

Bellamy glanced down at his watch, “She should be pulling up any minute. I’m going to go feed the horses and finished with them. Dinner in an hour?” 

She nodded and he turned to head out to the barn. 

Clarke was pulling garlic bread out of the oven when she heard her front door open. Abby was on another overnight shift so there was only one other person it could have been. She practically threw the bread onto the stovetop and rushed towards the front door, oven mitts still on. 

A bag dropped and squeals filled the house as Octavia and Clarke collided. The two girls hugged and squealed some more. Once they were all squealed out, Clarke led Octavia into the kitchen and offered her something to drink. She poured lemonade for both of them and began cutting up the garlic bread. 

“Your brother should be here in a second. He had to finish up with the horses,” Clarke told her. 

“That’s cool. How’d that new jockey work out? I know he was skeptical,” Octavia said, taking a sip of her lemonade. 

“Anya is fantastic. Exactly the jockey we need.”

“Have you and Bell talked about anything other than horses since you got back?”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Just the usual stuff with us.” 

“So horror movies and horses?” Octavia countered. 

“School too. He admitted he missed us having around.”

“That must have killed him a little.”

“You don’t even know how much,” Bellamy said, taking a seat beside his sister. “Welcome back O.” 

“Good to be back big brother,” Octavia smiled, kissing his cheek. 

The trio had dinner and watched a comedy of Octavia’s picking while eating her favorite movie snack, popcorn with milk duds mixed in. Bellamy urged his little sister off to bed when she started to fall asleep. 

Clarke and Bellamy worked in silence cleaning up the kitchen after he made sure Octavia made it to their house across the expansive backyard safely. 

“You ready for the lake trip?” he asked. 

“So ready. Boston is fantastic and the little beach is awesome, but the lake is my childhood and adolescence and I’ve really missed it. How about you?” she asked. 

“I’m very ready. I’ll be glad when Kane gets here with Nate’s dad to handle the horses,” Bellamy said. 

“They coming in on Thursday?” she asked.

“Yeah, I asked them to come in the day before so I could run through the day to day with them.”

“I thought you might. Raven, Wick, and Lincoln are meeting us here. I thought we’d take my 4 Runner and Lincoln’s truck,” Clarke said. 

“Sounds like a good plan. That’ll leave my truck for Kane and Mr. Miller.” 

She nodded and handed him another dish to dry. They talked a little more about the trip up to the lake and who all was coming. At some point the silence returned and they finished up the dishes. 

Clarke put the towel down and Bellamy drained the sink before she walked him to the backdoor. She opened it and leaned against the doorjamb, “See you tomorrow?” 

“Most likely. I am just across the backyard.” 

She laughed softly and nodded, “That you are.” 

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, “Goodnight Clarke.” 

Clarke froze for a moment and bit the inside of her cheek. She shook off the shock, “Goodnight Bellamy.”

He turned and put his hand in his back pockets as he made his way across the yard. She closed the door and leaned against it. 

“Fuck…” she murmured. 

His lips against her cheek left it tingling and a fluttering in her stomach. Despite the almost year and a half since the incident and a relationship that admittedly failed, he still gave her the tingles. She heaved a heavy sigh and trudged up to her bed after locking up. 

Octavia and Bellamy always rode with her up to the lake and being in the closed space was going to prove to be tough. She knew their friendship would make it out of the weekend alive, but she wanted more. 

How could she possibly bring it up without fucking everything else up?


End file.
